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In 2007, ASUS took a gamble and introduced a new type of portable computer. Called the EeePC, it was a Linux-based clamshell sporting a 7-inch screen. ASUS dubbed it a netbook. The concept has roots in the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project championed by former MIT media director Nicholas Negroponte; the original idea was to create a low-cost PC that would give young people access to the Internet and help kids in emerging markets access the world of information and communication on the Internet.

But while the ASUS EeePC was originally designed for emerging markets, ASUS decided to sell it in the U.S. and Europe as well. To everyone's surprise, the gadget took off. The big interest seems to have come from families who already had a PC used by all the members of the house. They wanted a second PC that could deliver Internet connectivity, so the kids wouldn't dominate the family PC.

The problem was that many of those who bought this Linux netbook got it home before realizing that it was underpowered andmore importantwouldn't work with their home printers, cameras, and so on. Consequently, sources say that the return rates for the first version of the ASUS EeePC were close to 35 percent. Bottom line was that it did not meet people's expectations. Many of them thought this was just a really low-cost laptop and bought it under that premise.

Recently, buyers interested in netbooks have started asking ASUS and other vendors to give them a device of the same size and costrunning Windows XP. And that's what's now happening. ASUS, Acer, MSI, and more recently Dell have created Windows XP netbooks with the hope that more and more families, digital nomads, kids, and students would be attracted to the highly portable devices.

From the beginning, these vendors must emphasize that netbooks are not true notebooks. While netbooks will take you onto the Internet, they won't replace notebook computers, since they lack the processing power to create media and handle advanced graphics and videoand they will not allow you to multitask. Netbooks are low-cost and highly portable, but they're designed for one task at a time.Next: Atom Processor >

Tim Bajarin is recognized as one of the leading industry consultants, analysts, and futurists covering the field of personal computers and consumer technology. Mr. Bajarin has been with Creative Strategies since 1981 and has served as a consultant to most of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry including IBM, Apple, Xerox, Compaq, Dell, AT&T, Microsoft, Polaroid, Lotus, Epson, Toshiba, and numerous others. Mr. Bajarin is known as a concise, futuristic analyst, credited with predicting the desktop publishing revolution three years before it...
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